Searching for new specs…

Well, since I don’t have to worry myself with hairstyles, I take much more pains in finding the right new look for glasses. Hmmmmmm…………..could this be it?!
 

More of Alaska.

For Bush, Humpys!

All I have to say Mr. Bush is Halibut Tacos…to define this Alaskan specialty in one word, Scrumpchulescent!

Alaska…my commentary would only ruin this pic.

So…are you rich?

I have a dear friend named Jeromy who recently spent a few days with me on a road trip. We hadn’t seen each other in a while so we had a lot of catching up to do. Up until a year ago, Jeromy owned a very successful business. In a very short amount of time, and due to some very hard work by he and his wife, they found themselves in the most “successful” place that they had ever been. I witnessed the growth of their business personally, and I can tell you that no one rejoiced more than I at the way God blessed them. If ever a couple deserved this kind of blessing, it was this couple.

 

 

About a year or so ago, Jeromy began to feel strongly compelled to move 10 hours away, even then knowing that it could potentially effect their business in a very adverse way. All of his friends, myself included,tried their best to talk him out of it. In the end, he said he knew that he had heard God on the matter, and so the trucks were loaded and away he moved. Long story short, the worst fears of most of his friends are now confirmed. This move has all but killed what was at one time, an exploding business. But here is where this story gets amazing to me.

 

After Jeromy made the initial move, he and his wife became very involved in a small local church. Through the providence of God, Jeromy unexpectedly found himself becoming involved in the lives of a handful of teenagers who attended there. I can tell you from personal knowledge that Jeromy has never had an interest in this area of ministry. So you can only imagine my surprise at the way his eyes lit up every time he mentioned those teenagers…which I have to add was often! He told me with great excitement how they were engaging with God on a very authentic level. He shared story after story of how they were walking out their faith in practical ways, how they were walking in love towards one another, and how there new found passion for intercession and worship was effecting the whole congregation. Oddly enough, we didn’t spend a lot of time discussing his business, and not for my lack of bringing it up. When we did discuss it, he spoke about it with a peace and a confidence that rest only on someone who has obeyed God. Then he’d talk about those kids some more. I found myself deeply challenged by those few days together, and think there’s a challenge in it for all of us.

 

 

In all of our struggling to make a life for ourselves, even the best of us at times forget what we are really here for in the first place. And quite contrary to what our flesh may scream at us at times, there really is no substitute for following Jesus, even when it doesn’t make sense to us, and it usually doesn’t. No amount of money can bring the joy, excitement, and deep peace that come from pouring your life out for the sake of Christ. I honestly have no doubt that Jeromy will see business success again, but the fact is, he is content even if he doesn’t. The more Jeromy has poured his life out for these kids, the more he has been transformed into something he never was before. He has tapped into true riches, and I think we all could use a gentle shove in that direction.

 

 

Philemon 1:6 says, “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” Simply put, its hard to drown in your circumstances when you are wrapped up in the abundant life that comes from following Christ. May we all be challenged to live this kind of life. I know its crazy to some, but its absolutely liberating to those who dare to go there! And besides, when has any of our struggling and worrying changed anything anyway?  !

Long live Steamboat Bill!

Yep…we’re still in Louisiana and we’re still at it! Today we located the infamous “Steamboat Bills” for yet another round of crawfish and gumbo. I must say, you gotta love a place that has sinks out in the middle of the place for you to wash your hands. Of course, you could also consider these sinks emergency first aid stations for those who are less skilled in the fine art of eating crawfish, as inevitably they will wipe their eyeballs with a hand covered in cajun seasoning…though humorous for the rest of us, its both humiliating and painful for the person with the spicy eyeball…just ask Ryan! (Who by the way has decided to become a conservationist on the behalf of mud-bugs everywhere…)

We will enjpy this while it last, for tomorrow we head back to our cold and snowy hometown of Nashville…

Where in the world…

OK…without cheating and looking at the “pocket” schedule, would you like to take a guess where we are this week? And yes you get extra points if you guess the exact city!
 

Chicken anyone?

When you spend as much time as I do out on the road, you see all kinds of amazing things. Some things inspire me, like driving through Snoqualmie Pass during a heavy snow. Some things stir a deep emotion in me, like walking around Times Square alone and feeling very small, and yet very sure of who I am. Other things, just make me fall over in a fit of laughter…would you like to guess where the following picture fits?
 

Ummm…yeah.

 
I’m really not sure sure where to file this little story. Maybe under the “God is keeping me humble” tab, or maybe under the “God’s sense of Humor” tab. I guess it could be both, you can be the judge…

This weekend found “pocket” in Louisiana leading worship just outside of Monroe. The venue was great, the people were engaged and there were a lot of familiar faces in the crowd from previous shows. Since we were fairly close to where we all used to live, most of us in the band had family and friends there who had driven in to see us. It was a perfect night of worship until…

It was at a point in the night where I was passionately extolling the beauty and privilege of having a personal relationship with Christ, and specifically the miracle of the Cross. Of course, it makes perfect sense that this is also the point where we dive in to our song “At The Cross”. It would be an understatement to say that I am passionate about this particular song. I am deeply moved by it every time we lead it. So with eyes shut and tears gently rolling down my face, I tenderly sang through two verses and two choruses. Then, to the powerful swell of drums and electric guitar I took a deep breath, reached for the top of my vocal range, and launched into the anthemic bridge of the song…”Such beauty through tragedy…” at which point something happened to me that has never happened before.

I guess I had started to sound a little hoarse, because the song before, Alisa had walked over and set a bottle of water on top of my keyboard…a fact of which I took very little notice…until during the afore mentioned anthemic bridge, due to my aggressive piano playing it proceeded to fall over sideways across the keys and pour into my lap. You should remember that my eyes were closed, and I guess being caught up in the moment made me completely oblivious to the small waterfall cascading into my lap. It wasn’t until the half empty bottle finally slid completely off the keyboard and bounced off my “lap” and onto the floor did I become keenly aware of the very cold sensation emanating from an area where no man should ever have a cold sensation. 

Of course I wasn’t  quite through with that anthemic bridge in the song, but I did quite suddenly open my eyes and have two great revelations. One, my lap was soaked. Two, not everyone in the audience was as spiritual as me. It seems that some in the audience did not have their eyes closed, as all good worshipers should do in big anthemic worship songs. It appears they had been watching this bottle edge its way towards me for quite some time, in plenty of time of course to have there cameras ready. 

To try and redeem at least a small portion of my dignity, I will blatantly brag and tell you that I never missed a note or word, though I am sure that the level of passion in which I had been singing the song dropped substantially. But what do you do when you find yourself soaking wet, staring at an audience gleefully taking pictures of your situation with their cell phone cameras? You smile back…and keep on worshipping…cause you figure that God Himself is probably gleefully laughing too!

(On a side note, I later asked those less spiritual than me to email me the pics they took…I will post them if I get them.) 

Wanna borrow my toothbrush?

 
So my friend Billy is visiting us. This morning we were sitting having coffee when my daughter Mykah walked in to have a bite of breakfast. Billy is a really funny guy, and he and my girls are always harassing each other. As Mykah walked through his morning, Billy attempted to freak her out by very seriously informing her that he had forgotten his toothbrush and ask her if she wouldn’t mind leaving hers out so he could use it. She simply replied, “I can’t find mine so I’ve been using Madison’s”. 

Priceless.